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The Beijing Limp Pix – Auf Wiedersehen.

Posted by pipilaowai on Sunday, August 24, 2008

It’s almost over and the end can’t come fast enough. It will be over by the time this has been read and as I type, the USA are just keeping ahead of the Spanish in the final of the men’s Basketball. Notch up on more gold to the USA? Probably, but only just.

The gold medal standings at this time are China 50 and the USA 35. Of the 50 that have been won by China, 25 were won by women and 25 by men. Now that’s what I call equality. Of the 35 gold that the USA won, 14 were won by women and 21 by men, with the men about to add another gold in the basketball. Hmmm – if I had a point to make on that subject, I might, but I won’t!!

I watched bits of the men’s and women’s marathons – both were as boring as every other marathon. When the medal ceremonies were being held and the national anthems played, it was touching to see the athletes clasping their chests – but strangely it was not with both hands as we had been expecting. The air in Beijing was de-polluted as promised. As the countdown to the end of the Olympics approaches, we can hear the car engines warming up and preparing to hit the streets in force. The factory managers are standing by the power gear, waiting to crank those factories back into life as soon as the visitors are gone – and along with the visitors goes the façade that has been China for the last few weeks and very soon we will be back to a welcome normality. Gone will be the demonstration sports of organised flag waving, bussed in crowds and face painting and what we will be left with is an Olympic Hangover and Nationalistic withdrawal symptoms. Where will all that pumped up adrenaline go next?

I miss the Olympics already, like a hole in the proverbial head.– it’s been a welcome distraction for an entire population. However, now we have to get on with life without heroes. How will we survive (?).

London Calling, London Calling. (Only) 4 more years!

PS – To all the Aussies out there. HA fkn HA. We beat you, get over it darlings.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 20:08 and is filed under China.
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justrecentlysaid

OK, it’s nice to see the back of the games, but haven’t we all come to know each other better? The Laowai world and the Middle Kingdom? Who can claim that knowing one another better always leads to love and admiration?
As for the Games themselves, I enjoyed the Games, i. e. soccer, table tennis, hockey (a bit), and basket ball (a bit). Marathon, steeple chase runs etc. look boring to me. Matches are no less hard work and training, but they are exciting. What’s meant to be exciting about marathons is beyond me. About as great as excuse-me dances.